IBM and Dassault Forge Global PLM Alliance

On the heels of an
acquisition deal that capped off their 28-year partnership, IBM and Dassault Systèmes came together this week, showcasing the first deliverables of a Global
Alliance around Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

Dassault earlier
this month completed a
$600 million acquisition of IBM's PLM Sales and Consulting arm, resulting
in a unified company to sell and support its complete line of product
development and engineering software, including CATIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA and
DELMIA. At IBM's IMPACT 2010 conference this week, the pair provided more
details on their previously announced alliance, including delivering more
details on financing solutions from IBM Global Financing, announcing plans to
create a joint competency center, as well as showcasing a PLM cloud computing
proof-of-concept.

"For 28 years, IBM
was a reseller for Dassault applications, and with this divestiture and
acquisition of the IBM organization, IBM is no longer focused on the resale of
Dassault applications as a strategic part of its business — that responsibility
lies with Dassault and its other authorized resellers," said Chuck Masur, IBM
vice president of the Dassault Systems Global Alliance. For customers, the
change in relationship means no more confusion about who sells what software
license and they also will benefit from increased focus on technical
collaboration — a model IBM has honed over the years with other key ISVs
selling enterprise applications, Masur says.

The pair showed off
a technical proof-of-concept that illustrates how customers can take advantage
of DS PLM V6 software via a range of delivery options, from on-premise software
solutions to a cloud powered by IBM software, hardware and services. The cloud
computing model is designed to help reduce IT complexity and minimize
operational costs associated with running PLM, including MCAD, collaboration
and other 3-D design tools applications.

"We have many
customers, especially small and medium-sized business, that need a solution
from Dassault, but need them in an environment that is easy to manage and where
the cost is lower," said Yannick Wittner, the lead at Dassault in charge of the
IBM partnership. "We're partnering with IBM to put our V6 applications on the
IBM cloud." What is now a proof-of-concept will be commercially available in
2011, Wittner says.

In addition to the
work in cloud computing, the partners also established a joint PLM competency
center focused on optimizing DS PLM V6 solutions for performance, reliability
and scalability on the IBM infrastructure.

The financing part of
the alliance will give customers access to the IBM Global Financing portfolio
to fund projects encompassing both Dassault and IBM technology. Customers will
have access to simple loans, custom leases and terms as long as 60 months to
finance the total PLM solution, including hardware, software and services.

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